Tag: book blog

Bookish Brains Issue 19

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Letter from the editor:

Hello! How has your summer reading been so far?

If you’re not already, consider checking out what summer reading programs are happening at your local library! I am helping to run the summer reading challenge at my library job, but I’m also participating in another local library’s challenge. There’s something about the summer that makes me greedy (er, greedier) for reading. But I also say the same thing in the winter, so I guess it’s a moot point.

I’ve been even more wrapped up into reading this month than last month. This Bookish Brains features book reviews of Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow, Loveless by Alice Oseman, Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hill, Ms. Marvel: Stretched Thin by Nadia Shammas, and more! Plus, upcoming new book releases in July that look awesome!

Cheers,
-B.C.

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You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty: A Book Review

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Right now is the perfect time to read You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi—-the newly released romance novel opens on Memorial Day weekend, features queer main characters, and embodies the essence of what they call “hot girl summer.”

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Bookish Brains Issue 17

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Letter from the editor:

Greetings, dear readers! April was my first full month in the youth services department at the library I work at, so I have been reading a lot of children’s literature! I also got to lead two storytime sessions for preschoolers, which was a lot of fun. My first theme was Flowers, and my second theme was Gardening. Let me know if you’d be interested in me sharing my storytime plans with you!

April is also National Poetry Month, so this month I read a couple books written in verse. Altogether, I read 22 books this month, 14 of which were picture books. I’ve been busy!

This edition contains eight book reviews and a list of awesome upcoming book releases to look forward to next month.

Hoping you are having a lovely spring so far and wishing you a gorgeous May.

Cheers!
-B.C.

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Dear Senthuran: A Book Review

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Memoir Dear Senthuran by Akwaeke Emezi is a deeply energetic text exploring their experiences existing as an ọgbanje in a world of human constructs, a Nigerian writer within the constrictive realm of U.S. academia and publishing, and a soft heart seeking comfort among the spirits of loved ones.

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Bookish Brains Issue 7

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Letter from the Editor:

May is always a hectic time of year for me, though I’m surprised to see it ending so quickly! This past month, I participated in Cindy’s Asian Readathon, and so for the month of May I primarily read books with Asian authors, including those with Chinese, Taiwanese, Indian, Iranian, and Vietnamese backgrounds. In this issue of Bookish Brains, I feature mini book reviews for Stargazing by Jen Wang, Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker, Bestiary by K-Ming Chang, and Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi.

In other news, I also made a bookish Tumblr (a booklr, if you will), so if you would like to follow Slanted Spines on Tumblr, you can check out my page! So far, I mostly use it to post quotes from the books I read, cross-promote my website and YouTube channel, and post photos. It’s been a lot of fun and quite the throwback, as I spent a good deal of my adolescence on Tumblr–and it hasn’t changed much since then, thankfully.

This month, I also made a personal goal of donating to a charity or organization every time I buy books. I spent about $45 on books in May, so I donated the same amount to a GoFundMe for rebuilding Samir Mansour’s bookstore in Gaza. Not only will this motivate me to be cautious about buying books if it’s not in the budget, but it will also help me keep up with charitable practices throughout the entire year.

Hope you also had a quality reading month!

Cheers!
-B.C.

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Bookish Brains Issue 6

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Letter from the Editor:

Spring is upon us, and I hope you’ve been reading some lovely books lately! I had a month full of good reads, and as always I’m happy to share my thoughts with you. In this issue of Bookish Brains, I’ve included book reviews for No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood, Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi, The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins, and How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps her House by Cherie Jones. Plus, I give a sneak peek at my May TBR and shout out a few upcoming book releases!

During April, I also received some exciting news: I was accepted into a Master’s program for Library and Information Science! Last week I registered for classes, so this fall I will be attending school again. Through this experience, I’m seeking a career in the library systems, and I couldn’t be more excited. When I was a teenager, I worked for a couple years at a shelver at my local library and loved it. So it’s been a rewarding month and I feel grateful for this opportunity.

Wishing you a beautiful, blooming May! Please leave a comment and let me know what your favorite read from April was; I would love to hear about it.

Cheers!
-B.C.

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Homegoing: A Book Review

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A Book Review of Homegoing

After reading Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi earlier this year, I was extremely interested in reading her previous debut novel, Homegoing, which tells the fictional stories of two half-sisters born in separate villages in eighteenth-century Ghana and their respective descendants.

And as though I weren’t already excited enough to read it, when I opened up to the first few pages and saw a family tree chart, I became even more hyped– who doesn’t love a book with a chart?

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Bookish Brains Issue 4

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Letter from the Editor:

Greetings! Even though February is the shortest month of the year, I still managed to read several amazing works. In honor of it being Black History Month, I exclusively read Black-authored books. Not just this month, but year-round as well, I think we should generally aim to uplift the marginalized voices which so often have been ignored throughout history.

In this issue of Bookish Brains, I will be sharing reviews for The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi, Black Boy Out of Time by Hari Ziyad, the March comic trilogy written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, and Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde, as well as my currently-reading thoughts on Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin and my reading plans for March! Cheers!

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